When I was Young
by Mister Evil
Summary: Hermione Granger gets her letter but when all is said and done, she discovers that shes stuck between two worlds. SLIGHT AU


_**Written for QLFC R5**_

 _ **Prompt: Use the title of a story written by your Seeker for inspiration**_

 ** _I used Saturnine Spider's story "Between Two Worlds" _**

_**Word Count: 1262**_

 _ **Ballycastle Bats**_

* * *

Often enough I'd feel like I was stuck between the cusp of two worlds, the magic, and everything else. You see, there was magic in books I'd read to escape, and then there was the reality that I was trying to escape from.

Magic was something you'd hear about as a child, at least that's how I'd heard of it until I got a letter from a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. It'd just been in fairy tales that mum would read to me so I'd finally stop worrying about those monsters under my bed, and go to sleep.

"Do you think this has to do with her...well. The-" Dad's voice was quiet in the living room, probably because I was supposed to be asleep by now.

"You mean the fact that she had all of her books floating around the room?" Mum wasn't trying to be quiet; I figured it was thanks to the fact that she didn't buy into my letter as much as Dad. I supposed I couldn't blame her, not many people had heard of such a school with a name like Hogwarts.

"Well look, there's a name here. We can just...mail back a letter." Dad supplied in the same hushed tone as before.

"Minerva McGonagall? What sort of name is that?" I nibbled at my bottom lip as I tried to creep silently back up the stairs to go to bed. It made me extremely nervous to be out of bed at this hour and against my parent's wishes.

"Welsh maybe?" Dad let out a low chuckle; it made me feel like maybe this would work out for me.

I'd been wanting to change schools for a few years now, ever since I had turned nine thanks to a few nasty girls that kept calling me a werewolf. I think it's because my teeth are so large, and Mum couldn't help me contain the bushy hair I have, but it might have been because I reminded them that cheating on a test would get them nowhere in life during maths class.

I slid into bed with ease at the thought that I might get my wish of leaving my school and going to another where there were kids just like me...or at least one that was like me.

Sleep came easily enough thanks to the feeling of hope that I finally had again. I even woke up excited for the day despite the fact that it was summer and classes had stopped about a month ago.

Skipping down the stairs with a smile on my face, I decided that I'd have cereal for breakfast and then see if Mum could drop me off at the library for some light reading.

"Hermione?" I stopped my skipping at the sound of my Mum's voice and looked up from the steps to see three people in the living room.

"Hello." I bobbed my head at the older women with a facade of pleasantries that hid away the fact that I was standing on the stairs in my fuzzy pyjamas and there was a stranger on our couch. She looked rather out of place in her long black jacket, glasses, and a no-nonsense expression on her face.

"Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I presume?" The woman seemed to eye me up and down with a look of mild interest, the same that I'd seen on a multitude of teacher's faces before hers. I bobbed my head up and down at her without speaking, ignoring the urge to play with the hem of my shirt.

"Hermione, this is Miss McGonagall. She's the headmistress of that school we got a letter from yesterday." My mother helped me fill in the gaps of my knowledge which made me feel a little better, but I was still quite nervous as I glanced at my parent's faces. My dad's smile was comforting enough that I found myself moving from the stairs to the free spot on the sofa.

"Deputy Headmistress." I cocked my chin up a touch as both me and Miss McGonagall corrected her.

"My apologies." Mum apologised as she shared a look I couldn't decipher with my dad. I felt a snag of guilt at the back of my throat, remembering that saying stuff like that made the other kids feel less smart. I wondered if maybe that was why she glanced at him.

"Now then. Miss Granger, I've already explained to your parents that you'll be going to the best School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under a very capable headmaster." Miss McGonagall seemed to be addressing me personally which was a touch confusing. Adults usually looked over me and spoke to my parents.

"What will I be learning there? Is it stuff like Maths or Literature? I do fancy some of Shakespeare's works." I'm sure my eyes had grown three sizes larger at the prospect of learning something entirely new and different, but I couldn't help my excitement. I'd spent my whole life at the same school with the same people, and now I had a chance to see how others did it.

"Well, there are such subjects as Arithmancy, but our curriculum is designed more so to help you better your magical abilities." She tilted her head at me, another calculating look passed over her eyes, but I could have sworn I saw a corner of her lip twitch upwards.

"So then magic _is_ real?" I raised both brows at that, checking to make sure that's exactly what she meant.

"Very much so." She nodded at me in an oddly elegant fashion as she crossed one leg over the other in her seat across from me. She did look very much out of place here; like she belonged in another world or a different era.

"But then why can't my parents do what I can do?" I tilted my head with a peering glance between the two of my parents who had remained silent during this exchange.

"They don't have that gene activated, I'm afraid. It means that you had a magical person without any ability to perform magic in your family." She supplied information readily, making me only more curious.

"There are people like that?" I couldn't stop the need to know from bubbling out of my lips as I played with the hem of my shirt.

"Unfortunately. They're called Squibs in our world, their parents had magic, but they didn't pass that down." Miss McGonagall nodded, seemingly patient with my questions.

"Now then, I am here mainly because I need to know if you'll be attending Hogwarts this year." She glanced between my parents and I before settling her eyes to peer at me over her glasses.

"Um..." I pursed my lips, unsure now as I glanced at my parents who seemed to only watch me for an answer.

"If I may, Miss Granger, as someone whose parents were both non-magical and a witch, you will see less of your parents as they are Muggles." She added this in after a moment of silence surrounded the room.

"Why is that?" I furrowed my brows at her, assuming Muggle meant people who didn't have magic.

"The magical community has had to separate itself from the rest of the non-magical world due to conflicts. There is a great deal of secrecy involved in being a witch in the Muggle world, I'm afraid." At that moment she looked a lot more understanding than I'd thought possible upon first meeting her, and I didn't really know quite what to do for once.


End file.
